Document handlers have been in use in electronic gaming machines (“EGMs”), vending machines, automated teller machines (“ATMs”) and other devices for some time. The document handler may be sold for use in these devices as an integrated component or as a separate product that may be installed upon purchase. A typical configuration of a document handler for these types of devices has a front operation panel through which documents such as bills or tickets are deposited and from which bills or tickets are dispensed. Once inserted, the document is introduced to one or more validators for validating authenticity, denomination and defacement of the document and for being counted. The document is then routed to one of potentially multiple cashboxes for storage, a reject safe for collecting defaced, rejected or non-recyclable documents or one of a group of escrow reservations for temporarily accumulating documents, stowing the documents into the cashboxes and picking out bills of a designated amount from the cashboxes for payment. The document handler also includes a set of serial passageways for transporting documents one by one among the front operation panel, validators, cashboxes, reject safe and escrow reservations. These serial passageways are typically implemented as a bidirectional path for transporting documents guided along the bidirectional path in the forward and reverse directions. One or more unidirectional paths are also used for transporting documents guided along the unidirectional path in a single direction.
Document handlers are also known to use stackers to stack bills of different denominations. The stackers are fitted with bill conveyors for transporting bills into and out of the stackers along a channel for guiding bills. A bill conveyor has a door that may be opened and closed by rotating the door about a pivot provided at one end of the channel so that the door is closed to form the channel, and it is opened to provide an approach from outside a space for forming the channel.
In EGM applications, document handlers are set up to also accept printed tickets that hold monetary value and may be inserted into an EGM. Once inserted, the document handler reads a code on the ticket to determine a monetary value associated with the ticket. The code (e.g. a bar code) is stored in a system to which the EGM is connected on a network in a gaming establishment. If the code is confirmed as a valid code in a communication exchange between the EGM or the document handler and the system, the value of the code is converted to credits and added to the credit meter on the EGM so that the credits are available to the player to play games on the EGM. Once a player has completed a session of game play on the EGM, he may “cash-out” any remaining credits, in which case a new ticket is printed by a ticket printer which may typically be located inside the EGM, but may also be located outside the EGM, either nearby the EGM or at a remote location. The ticket includes a variety of information such as the value associated with the ticket, a code that is unique to the ticket for security purposes and so that the ticket can be tracked, the date, the name of the gaming establishment issuing the ticket and any other information that the gaming establishment may desire to place on the ticket. The code is stored in the system so that it may be confirmed when the ticket is presented for use at an EGM or at a cashier station to be converted to cash.
As stated above, document handlers are usually sold as an integrated component in a device such as an EGM, ATM, vending machine or change kiosk. Alternatively, a document handler may be sold as a stand-alone device and then placed inside of a device by the purchaser. In either case, a sale price is set for the document handler and it is sold without any limitations on its operation when commercially placed. In some instances, sales of document handlers may be made with financing terms where payments are made over time with interest included in the payments. In such cases, it is not uncommon for the seller of the document handler to make a sale but then for the purchaser to fail to make payments. In addition, it is difficult to track warranty periods for a document handler that may have a certain manufacture date, but which is not actually placed into operation until a later date. In those cases, establishing the expiration date for the warranty may be difficult. For these reasons, it is desirable to provide a document handler that may have a timed operation which can be controlled through activation upon the sale of the document handler or at a later time.
The present invention is a document handler with timed operation functionality in which the manufacturer of the document handler may input coded information in the document handler to establish a timed operation of the document handler which may be contingent on continued payments for use of the document handler. Alternatively, or in addition, the timed operation may be used to establish an appropriate warranty period during which the manufacturer is obligated to provide repairs, modification and/or support for the document handler.